Today's News

U. S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan visited New Mexico recently to encourage students to think about careers in agriculture.
New Mexico has the nation’s highest average age for farmers and ranchers, at nearly 60, and the rest of the country looks similar. Among farmers and ranchers, the over- 65 crowd is the fastest growing group, says the U.S. Census.
The USDA has programs to help young farmers and ranchers, but the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau has said the red tape is a barrier. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition is pushing for training, access to financing and credit, student loan forgiveness for new farmers, and tax breaks for selling land to young farmers.

The massively reported shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida spotlights key elements of a working nation. I do not mean Florida gun laws.
The highly public tragedy by any measure you choose pries open the subject of evidence and data.
What is evidence? What are data and how do they apply to problems?
Courses of action follow from evidence and data. Yet, the meanings of “evidence” and “data” vary greatly, depending on which forum you think of.
Three forums vital to an ably working nation are law, science and the public forum. How does each of them deal with evidence and data?

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — For those who thought Tiger Woods’ run as the world’s best golfer was over, the 747-sized roar that emanated from the 16th green at Muirfield Village likely shocked them to their senses.
With one flick of his wrists, Woods reminded everyone of who he was and what he has done.
Woods slid a 60-degree sand wedge under a ball hidden by tall grass behind the 16th green, popped the ball straight up into the air where it seemed to hang for an instant, and then watched as it rolled ever so slowly toward the cup before dropping in for a 50-foot birdie that tied him for the lead at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday.

LOS ANGELES – The University of New Mexico Lobo baseball team’s season came to an end Sunday afternoon as the Lobos dropped a 7-2 decision to Creighton University in an elimination game in the UCLA regional.
The Lobos finished the season with a 37-24 record, which tied for the fourth-most victories in a single season in school history.
“I have to tip my hat to Creighton,” UNM manager Ray Birmingham said. “(It was a) great job by Creighton. They pitched extremely well … and made the pitches when they needed to make them.”

Chris Boice topped the professional men’s category at this year’s Pajarito Punishment downhill race.
The downhill competition was Sunday at Pajarito Mountain. While the Pajarito Punishment usually consists of a cross-country race as well as the downhill, but due to fire damage from 2011 and reconstruction efforts at Pajarito, that race had to be called off for 2012.
Boice, who rides for the Yeti Fox team, went 3 minutes, 16.63 seconds on his second ride to claim the title. Both Boice’s two times were the fastest posted in the competition this year.
Vince Sanchez of team Heart and Soul was the runner-up, finishing 2.95 seconds behind Boice.
In all, 50 men and women finished the downhill race.

In today's hectic world, finding time to vote can be a challenge. So citizens may be glad to know that the New Mexico State legislature and Los Alamos County have removed one more obstacle to participating in the democratic process.

In 2010, the state legislature approved the implementation of Voting Convenience Centers (VCCs). VCCs are Election Day polling locations available to any registered voter within a county regardless of their designated precinct.

Authorities in Maryland say the man accused of murdering his roommate and eating his organs was out on $220,000 bail after being arrested for allegedly beating another man with a baseball bat just days earlier. The suspect studied at a Los Alamos National Lab symposium last August. To read that report, click here.